The Moonlit Houndoom
by VectorLogic
Summary: I'm not really good with summaries, so I'll just give you the short version: A mightyena searches for the truth of an urban legend. It's my first one here so some constructive criticism is warranted. Can't improve if I don't know what needs improving, am I right?


**Hello, I'm VectorLogic, this is fanfic number one here. Didn't really know if it was going to be any good, but I figured now was a good time to see. Happy reading.**

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My name is Zeke, and I'm a mightyena, and one who's been surviving for some time in the forest. I wasn't one to have friends or acquaintances, you could say I'm a lone wolf, so to speak, but that changed when I saw something majestic last night. I was taking a leisurely walk during that night, the air was cold and crisp, and the sky was clear enough for the full moon to shine it's light in the darkness. The route I take puts me near some sort of plateau where, if you stand at the top of it, you could overlook the forest, or at least part of it. The moon was in the perfect position right at the top of said plateau, like the formation itself was holding a giant flashlight. After gazing at it for a few seconds, I resumed my walks, only to be stopped when I heard a howl coming from the very same plateau, and there I saw it, a canine-like pokemon, staring into the sky with it's coat glowing a bright green in the light of the moon. It's radiance was so bright, I had to cover my eyes so that couldn't be blinded by it, when it disappeared, it was gone. First, let me start from the beginning, before the whole thing happened.

It was morning when I woke up from my slumber, ready to take on another bring as hell day. I thought about asking the torkoal Max about the history of this island, as he's known to be some sort of historian when it comes to it's folklore. What he told me however, raised some more questions than I anticipated.

"A houndoom? Really?"

"Yes," he said. "It usually goes up to the top of the plateau to mourn the loss of someone. It's tragic to say the least, and it's spirit still goes there to this day."

"How do you know this?"

"I've seen it before, and from what I can remember, it looked like a houndoom."

A houndoom? Really? Those pokemon being here is like mew coming to visit, not likely. Max saw my look of disbelief and shot me a spiteful glare, and a bit of Ember.

"Hey," I shouted. " You can't blame me for thinking that tale's a joke, Besides, I've been living here my whole life and not once have I seen and/or heard of it."

"Oh, if I remember it correctly, it only does this once a year. Tonight is the time it does that, so I suggest you get some rest if you intend on seeing it yourself."

"I will, and I'll know whether or not it's true."

After a short chat with the torkoal, I went back to my den and laid down for a nap. That story he told me got me curious, but not enough for me to go out and find it, for all I know it could be a malevolent spirit or something. Then again, don't they usually become ghost-types anyway? Or something? That's when I decided to take that leisurely stroll to take my mind off of the subject, when I went over to where the plateau was, I looked up and saw the moon. I was about to turn around and head back until I hear a howl, and saw it, right at the top of the plateau. It's coat radiating from the moon's light, getting brighter and brighter until I had to avert my gaze from it. When it dimmed, it was gone, vanished without a trace. I sniffed the air, and it's scent was non-existent. Did I really just saw a phantom? Was it just my mind playing games with me? Standing around asking hundreds of questions wasn't going to help, so I went back to my den and slept until morning.

The next day comes and I heard the sound of laughter. I took a small peak outside and saw a houndoom being harassed by a few other pokemon, saying how it doesn't belong in this forest, that it's just another abomination, much to my anger. Luckily, they were all lined up for me to use my Hyper Beam on them, which managed to hit all of them, knocking them out in the process. I walked over to the houndoom and asked if everything is okay, though the reply was not as appreciative.

"I didn't ask for your help," it said in a femanine voice. "Those pokemon have been doing that to me since I got here, nothing but nuisances who don't deserve my attention."

"Well, I didn't like the idea of them pestering you like that."

"I can handle the situation myself. It's not like I haven't been through that before."

I didn't want to pry into her buisness, even though I just shot a Hyper Beam into it, but she sounded like she's had some history with this kind of harassment. I kept my mouth shut, for fear that she might attack me if I said anything that could make matters worse.

"I don't know why you're always in my way. What is it about me that got you so interested?"

"To be honest...I don't know," I answered.

I really didn't have an answer to that question, but any answer beats not having one. I just hope she doesn't think I'm being a bit weird about it, or that I'm acting far more concerned than I should be.

"I appreciate the thought," she softly stated. "Even though it wasn't necessary."

"Anyway miss...um."

"Linacre."

"Excuse me?"

"My name, it's Linacre."

That kind of surprised me, she just spoke her name after going off on me about my unneeded heroics. I didn't want to be rude, so I introduced myself as well.

"I'm Zeke," I told her. "So...what were you doing before these creeps came at you?"

"I was going to stop by Max's den to chat with him."

"Mind if I come with you?"

Linacre sighs, almost sounding like she wasn't going to shake me off so easily.

"Fine, just don't get in my way again."

"No promises."

Nothing else happened at the start, or during the trip. Nothing but silence, either she didn't want to talk with me, or I'm just that big of a waste of breath, either way, things are starting to...oh, who am I kidding, this is not going so well. I mean, we didn't even talk much for the entirety of the way there.

"Hello there Zeke," said Max. "So, were you able to meet the Moonlit Houndoom?"

"That's what it's called," I asked. "Yes, I did, though it disappeared before I had a chance to get a good look at it."

"Oh don't worry about it, I'm sure you'll find it again soon."

"Don't be silly Max," said Linacre. "A houndoom that glows with the moonlight whenever it howls is ludicrous."

She does have a point, for all I know, this particular houndoom might have been a figment of my imagination, but on the other hand, I was there, and it was there, and the whole encounter felt real.

"I don't know, I've seen this Moonlit Houndoom last night," I stated. "I even saw the whole thing up close, or as much as I could see since it's radiance was literally blinding."

"Like I said, don't worry about it," said Max. "By the way, you two make a fine couple."

"Hey, I just met him," shouted Linacre.

"I know right? We're still trying to get to know each other."

"How's that working out for you, sonny?"

I stammered in my words trying to explain the situation while Max just giggles. For an old pokemon, he really knows how to get on my nerves. We left his place and walked around for a bit, and it was decent, but it's also awkward since the both of us have been a bit shy around each other. She's not used to having conversations that start from someone insulting her on something, and I'm not used to having conversations with anyone. As nightfall came, we both said our goodbyes and went our separate ways to our homes, satisfied with today's event, albeit with a poor start. All I have to do is wait until next year for it to show up once again, or so Max has told me a couple days ago, and boy oh boy is it going to be a long wait.

During the long wait for that year to come around, Linacre and I have been becoming closer as friends, opening up to each other more and more in the process. Though it's the personal stuff that gets me interested, though not too interested to the point where I'd pester her about it. We've been through a lot of rough times as well, especially with those pokemon that kept on harassing her for reasons I don't even know, and again, still don't know the reason behind it. We did some sight seeing as well, and even visited places that I didn't even know about, I really gotta broaden my horizons more, otherwise I wouldn't be able to see something as amazing as Giratina's Eye. It was a giant stone formation that looked like one of Giratina's many eyes, if the sun hits it at the right point at the right time, it shines a bright crimson, as if it literally was it's eye staring back at you. We've grown to be closer than ever, and all that because of my unneeded assistance. I even showed her where my den is for whenever she was in the mood to drop by, there were even a few times where she would ask if she'd stay the night. If Max could see us like this, he'd pester us about it for days, luckily he's understanding of it, even though he occasionally mentions it, ah well, better to have it be occasional than frequent.

A year has passed, and the day was gone, I was sleeping in my den, not even thinking about the Moonlit Houndoom. It was when Linacre popped up that I knew something was up.

"Hey, Zeke," she said. "Come on, you don't want to miss the Moonlit Houndoom when it appears, don't you?"

"Huh, tonight's the night," I groggily asked. "Guess I forgot about it, until now. But why are you suddenly interested in it? You said yourself that it was just a ludicrous urban legend."

"Do you want to see it or not?"

Okay, now I'm curious. She told me herself that it was a myth, yet she's asking me to come with her to find it. I shakily stood up and stretched myself before walking out with her. I asked her about her sudden interest again along the way, but she just kept silent, like it was something that she didn't want to answer, which I respected. It took us almost fifteen minutes to get up to the top of the plateau, well for her, it took me about half an hour to climb something like that.

"Um, Linacre, why are we here?"

"You wanted to see the Moonlit Houndoom right," she asked. "Well...you've found her."

The moon came out from behind the clouds, and Linacre's fur started to go from black to green. She turns around and lets out a loud howl, causing her fur to shine even brighter. I averted my gaze from it's blinding radiance until it started fading out. When the event was over, she turned around to meet my surprised expression.

"You're the Moonlit Houndoom," I softly spoke out. "Though it's said that you come here to mourn the loss of someone. Who did you lose?"

"My grandmother," she replied. "She told me that one day, I'd find happiness in this dark world, and that one day my trait would shine a path leading to it. I never believed it, especially since a lot of people tend to poke fun at my trait, and some of the males that I've met always looked at me like I was a freak when I showed them."

Linacre started to sniffle a bit, upset that things didn't go as her grandmother had wished. I walked in closer to her and nuzzled her, thinking that it might cheer her up knowing that I haven't left her side.

"Well, I'm still here, aren't I," I asked her softly. "To be honest, I was a bit surprised when you showed me this trait. But throughout the whole year, I've known you to be more than what you are. You're strong, you're intelligent, and you're...beautiful."

I swear I thought I heard the sound of her ears perking up when I said that, and her face was looking redder than it normally is for a houndoom. I guess she's not used to getting compliments in terms of her personality or looks, a feeling I'm not to fond of myself, but that's another story.

"It'll take more than glowing fur to force me away from you," I continued. "Though your attempts at burning me alive almost succeeded in that one. I have to say, well done."

Suddenly, I felt my tail get singed from her Flamethrower attack. It was painful to say the least, but it only got the tip so it wasn't all too bad. When I managed to put out the small flame, I looked over to Linacre, who's giving me that scowl again before breaking out into laughter, which I joined in a little after. We stopped laughing and started into each other's eyes. Linacre, however, walked over to me and gave me a short peck on the lips.

"Thank you for being there for me," she whispered.

"You're welcome." I replied.

As we walked back to our dens, she stopped me to say that she's going to stay the night with me, which I gladly accepted. In the end, a lot of good things happened that day. I got to see who the Moonlit Houndoom was, Linacre and I didn't feel alone anymore, and we've found happiness in the most unexpected of way. I guess her grandmother was right, happiness is found even in the darkest of places.

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 **I'm gonna be honest, I feel satisfied with it, but I'm sure there may be some mistakes that I've overlooked. A bit of criticism comes a long way, so if there are some things I need to improve, let me know.**

 **VectorLogic, out**


End file.
